THE STORY OF ME, by Michael Eustaquio

Hi, my name is Michael. I am 14 years old and I live with Mom, Dad and my brothers Nicholas and Thomas. Let me tell you a little about me. I go to Island Trees Middle school and my teacher's names are Mrs. Joanne, Mrs Doherty and Mrs. Zegel. My classmates' names are Asia, Alec, Danny, Edwin, Edwin, Michael, Deny and Dylan. I also have some friends that I play video games with every week at the library. Our favorite game is Super Mario Brothers 3D World. Some of my favorite activities are drawing pictures, swimming, reading a book and exercise like taking a walk with my dad.

I am really good at drawing. My favorite project that I like to work on in my spare time is making plans to expand the Bronx Zoo and Sea World Orlando that will let them bring more animals to live there. When I grow up I want to be a zookeeper. One day I want to have my own shows on Animal Planet. This is how I'm going to do this: I'm going to go to school to learn how to take care of animals and work in a zoo to learn from their head zookeeper. I also want to learn how to cook and be a great chef and baker. I think that I have a really good imagination and come up with great ideas for taking care of animals.

My brother Nicholas wants to be a mechanical engineer when he grows up and he will help me build and expand the Bronx Zoo and Sea World one day. My other brother Thomas wants to be a musician and he helps me by introducing me to different kinds of music. My favorite kind of music is Jazz. At home, I help out by taking care of our pets and setting the table for dinner. One day when I get older I would like to live near an animal attraction so that I can work nearby and take care of them. I would also like to have a lot of different animals from around the world like macaws and crocodiles and bring them to my animal sanctuary. I would like to share my expansion ideas with the director of the Bronx Zoo and Sea World and also with my friends and family so they will be proud of me.

I have Autism. My dad and I have talked about how people with Autism think differently. Their brains work in different ways to understand the same things as you do. Sometimes I can't really express myself in so many words but I have the same feelings and like the same things that other people do. I work really hard every day and someday I will reach my dream. That's what makes me unique.

Now you know a little bit about me. Thanks!

Parent's note:

I need not say that Mike is strong, resilient, and inspirational. He is all those and more. He is slowly but surely making progress academically and socially, and becoming a young man right before our eyes. His future lays ahead of him; unscripted and spontaneous. I have no doubt that Mike will make the best of the situations ahead of him. We will be there for every step of his journey, and we as his parents, his siblings and his friends are all the better for taking that journey together.